1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses, methods therefor, and computer programs, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and a method therefor suitable for use in counting the number of accesses to a homepage by each person. The invention also relates to a computer program implementing the above-described method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical access counter installed in an Internet homepage, such as the one shown in FIG. 1, indicates the number of accesses to this homepage by unspecified people. This type of access counter is mainly for monitoring the popularity of the homepage by the creator thereof and also for demonstrating to people who have accessed the homepage its degree of popularity.
Some access counters not only count the number of accesses made by unspecified people, but also count the number of accesses by a specific person (creator of the homepage), so that a virtual electronic organism grows on the homepage in accordance with the number of accesses, and a corresponding graphic image is displayed.
This type of graphical access counter can encourage the creator of this homepage to access the homepage again, but not to unspecified people who have accessed the homepage.
Accordingly, in view of the above background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a graphical access counter which counts the number of accesses made to a homepage by each unspecified person and executes a predetermined event in accordance with the number of accesses, thereby encouraging people to access the homepage again.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus to be accessed from a plurality of information terminals via a network. The information processing apparatus includes a generating component for generating first information in response to an access from one of the information terminals and for supplying the first information to the information terminal. A receiving component receives the first information sent from the information terminal. An incrementing component increments the number of accesses and the cumulative number of accesses, which are contained in the first information received by the receiving component, according to a predetermined algorithm. An initializing component initializes the number of accesses at a predetermined period. A sending component sends image information, indicating a virtual organism which grows in accordance with the number of accesses incremented by the incrementing component, the number of accesses, and the cumulative number of accesses, to the information terminal. An event executing component executes a predetermined event in accordance with one of the number of accesses and the cumulative number of accesses incremented by the incrementing component.
The aforementioned incrementing component may increment the number of accesses by one a day in response to an access from the information terminal.
The information processing apparatus may further include a detection component for detecting an abnormality of the first information.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method for use in an information processing apparatus to be accessed from a plurality of information terminals via a network. The information processing method includes: a generating step of generating first information in response to an access from one of the information terminals and of supplying the first information to the information terminal; a receiving step of receiving the first information sent from the information terminal; an incrementing step of incrementing the number of accesses and the cumulative number of accesses, which are contained in the first information received in the receiving step, according to a predetermined algorithm; an initializing step of initializing the number of accesses at a predetermined period; a sending step of sending image information, indicating a virtual organism which grows in accordance with the number of accesses incremented in the incrementing step, the number of accesses, and the cumulative number of accesses, to the information terminal; and an event executing step of executing a predetermined event in accordance with one of the number of accesses and the cumulative number of accesses incremented in the incrementing step.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program for processing accesses made from a plurality of information terminals via a network. The computer program includes: a generating step of generating first information in response to an access from one of the information terminals and of supplying the first information to the information terminal; a receiving step of receiving the first information sent from the information terminal; an incrementing step of incrementing the number of accesses and the cumulative number of accesses, which are contained in the first information received in the receiving step, according to a predetermined algorithm; an initializing step of initializing the number of accesses at a predetermined period; a sending step of sending image information, indicating a virtual organism which grows in accordance with the number of accesses incremented in the incrementing step, the number of accesses, and the cumulative number of accesses, to the information terminal; and an event executing step of executing a predetermined event in accordance with one of the number of accesses and the cumulative number of accesses incremented in the incrementing step.
According to the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the computer program, it is possible to implement a graphical access counter for encouraging users to repeatedly access a homepage.